Brendon McCullum backs England to beat India in ODI series
What's the story
England's head coach, Brendon McCullum, is confident his team can defeat India in the upcoming ODI series.
The three-match series will kick off on February 6 in Nagpur.
Despite losing the recent T20I series 1-4 to India, McCullum is hopeful about his team's chances and would look to get back into form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.
He also added that their unique 'hostile overs' strategy could be the key to winning.
Here's what he had to say.
Strategy details
McCullum explains England's 'hostile overs' strategy
McCullum has elaborated on his team's 'hostile overs' approach, which is all about going for wickets aggressively.
"We're trying to bowl hostile overs and I'm fascinated how it's going to play out in 50-over cricket, that level of hostility can last a lot longer. We want wickets constantly, we understand how vital that can be," said McCullum in a presser.
Player comeback
Joe Root's return boosts England's confidence
England's confidence is also boosted by the return of star player Joe Root, who will be playing his first ODI since the 2023 World Cup.
Root has been in phenomenal form lately in Test cricket, ending as the highest run scorer of the format in 2024 with 1,556 runs from 17 matches at an average of 55.57.
His return will bolster England's batting ahead of the Champions Trophy.
Additionally, Root owns 6,522 runs in 171 ODIs (AVG: 47.60, 16 tons).
Series history
England aim to break 40-year ODI series drought in India
Despite their recent struggles, England are keen on ending a 40-year wait for an ODI series win on Indian soil.
Notably, the last time they did so was in January 1985.
Meanwhile, India have been on top in the recent contests between the two sides, winning the last two series against them.
This historical context makes the upcoming matches even more interesting.
Squads
A look at the squads for the series
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ꮪhubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Philip Salt, Jamie Smith, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.